Tourist Towns

Authentic Township Tour

About

Visit the townships of Port Elizabeth and experience the culture and atmosphere of its people and markets - this is a truly authentic township experience in which the hope and history of South Africa’s rainbow nation are encapsulated and shared.

As a hop-on, hop-off tour, you can get off the vehicle and take in the full kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and experiences of township living. You’ll visit New Brighton Township, the oldest in Port Elizabeth, and the infamous Red Location Area, with its iconic award-winning museum.

A stop at Njoli Market Square gives you the opportunity to enjoy an optional tasting of traditional Xhosa "Amagwinya" and homemade "Amasi". You can enjoy a walk around the vibrant street market, with vendors selling different foods, produce and traditional medicines. Every tour is personalised and professional, ensuring that you experience the true warmth and vibe that exists in township life.

A visit to a pottery studio, Aya’s Ceramics, allows you to interact with the artist and view her trendy artwork, which is sold globally.

The tour ends with refreshments at a local shebeen (tavern).

Duration

Half day.

Included

Transfers, tour guide, entrance fees, a snack pack and bottled water.

Bring

Camera, a hat and sunglasses.

Wear

Comfortable clothes, walking shoes and sunscreen.

Departure Point

Port Elizabeth accommodation venues or at the airport.

Tour Operator

Mosaic Tourism.

Map

Sunshine Coast

Highlights

About

With the most recorded sunshine hours in South Africa, the name Sunshine Coast is no idle boast or empty promise. Situated between Port Elizabeth and East London, the quaintness of the Sunshine Coast is a welcome escape from big-city bustle.

The area includes the inland towns of Alexandria, Salem and Bathhurst, with kilometres of beaches accessed via Cannon Rocks, Boknes, Bushmans River Mouth, Kenton-on-sea, Kasouga, Port Alfred and the Great Fish River area. The mixed derivations of these names suggest the rich cultural heritage of the area – the primary meeting point of San, Xhosa, Boer and British. The British influence is clear in the architecture of Bathhurst, Salem and Grahamstown.

Driving on the N2 or its tributaries the R67 or R72, the rolling green hills Lord Charles Somerset likened to English parklands were not exactly what the settlers expected. The unique dark golden-green shade of the Albany Thicket biome is due to the dense growth of hardy drought-resistant plants such as aloe, euphorbia and spekboom. Rain falls in winter and summer, and while not frequent, it is at times unpredictable, so the vegetation is built to withstand fickle skies.

Although unattractively scrubby to some, the Thicket contains 20% of the 316 threatened plant species found in the Eastern Cape, making it an important centre of endemism.

One is tempted to describe this beautiful and unusual landscape as “untouched”, but the area has long been farmed, with cattle, sheep, ostriches, pineapples and chicory among its historically successful concerns. Many farms have since been converted back into game reserves, such as the world-class, malaria-free Kariega and Shamwari Reserves. Game fences line the long, quiet, tarred roads and drivers are often startled at the sight of elephants, giraffes or other game grazing along the fences.

Drivers should also look out for smaller wildlife - porcupines, small antelope, hares, snakes, owls and tortoises - crossing the roads at dawn, dusk and at night.

The beaches and dunes of this coastline are magnificent. The Alexandria dunefield - famously the largest active dunefield in the world - and the exquisite Alexandria State Forest have been absorbed by the Greater Addo Elephant National Park.

While Kenton-on-sea and Port Alfred are the main seaside attractions, the family-oriented Cannon Rocks, Boknes and Kasouga are popular places to buy holiday homes and have a few lovely self-catering and guest cottages.

The Dias Cross at Kwaaihoek is a replica of the padrão erected there by Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias on his 1488 cruise past the South African coast. At the Cross there is a deck for dolphin sightings and whale-spotting in late spring and early summer. In season, southern right whales are sighted all along the Sunshine Coast.

Despite its fairly good roads and obvious attractions, this area is still, miraculously, relatively unspoilt and undeveloped. With the exception of the graceful Port Alfred Marina, attempts to beat its bush and rivers into commercial shape have been abandoned and it remains gentle, peaceful, simple, pristine and soul-enriching.

Situated on the Indian Ocean, one needn’t expect the “bath water” temperatures of KwaZulu-Natal - Sunshine Coast swims are invigoratingly cool and sometimes chilly, but seldom as achingly cold as the Western Cape.

The area doesn’t have the same flashy allure as other popular seaside destinations, but if you think of the coast as a place to relax and unwind, rather than paint the town red, there is no better place to visit.

Look out for

Addo Elephant National Park, 30 minutes from PE, features the “Big Seven” (the Big Five, plus southern right whales and great white sharks).

Explore Alexandria’s dunefields on the two-day Alexandria Hiking Trail or the seven-kilometre Dassie Day Trail, named for a rare tree dassie in the area.

Bathurst - founded in 1820, this “English country village in Africa”, 10 minutes from Port Alfred, is home to the Pig & Whistle, the oldest pub in South Africa, and the 16,7-metre-high Big Pineapple.

With unspoiled beaches, the tiny villages of Cannon Rocks, Boknes, Kleinemonde are a fisherman’s and bird-watcher’s paradise. Cannon Rocks is named for its two cannons and anchor. The Dias Cross at Kwaaihoek is an uplifting thee-kilometre walk from Boknes across incredible sandy beaches, or a six-kilometre walk at low tide from Bushmans River.

Bushmans River – the second-longest navigable river in South Africa, with 22 kilometres of navigable water, is a favourite with canoeists, sailors, water-skiers and fishermen.

Kasouga – maintains its rustic beginnings with dirt roads and no streetlights, hotels and shops, wonderful birdlife and an exquisite lagoon.

Port Alfred – enjoy the elegance of the Royal Alfred Marina. Famous for its annual powerboat race, Port Alfred offers provides great shopping, dining, and beauty retreats.

When to go

To Do

Gallery

Events

Articles & Blogs

Hinterveld Mohair

It starts warm and smelly, it gets loud and dirty and it ends with the luxurious whisper of the world’s finest mohair against your skin… I’m talking about the Hinterveld Mill Tour, an unexpected highlight on a recent trip to Uitenhage, hosted by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism.

With Hinterveld Mohair’s marketing manager Jackie Gant as guide, we explored the world of merino wool and, in particular, mohair production in South Africa. Jackie herself grew up on an Angora goat farm outside the village of Jansenville, where the country’s earliest Angora flocks were established.

The Donkin Reserve

At the heart of the city of Port Elizabeth, there’s a very special collection of art and architecture that brings the various elements of the city’s complex identity into stark relief. It centres around a small space known as The Donkin Reserve.

At the heart of the reserve, the Elizabeth Donkin Memorial is dedicated to the wife of Sir Rufane Donkin, who founded the city after arriving in the area in 1820. The inscription on the pyramid that looks out over the city to the sea reads: “To the memory of one of the most perfect of...